Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 750 - 692: Realm Collapse
The tall Angel stood on the grassland, and within the range of radiant light, black mists rose from the bushes, the expelled Power of Nightmare burning to ashes in the Holy Light. The withered plants regained their vitality, and the dew-tipped blades of grass now reflected a sacred sheen.
The overly powerful first resident of Dreamland had the management in a bit of a bind.
Kristo made a suggestion.
"Having him as the final boss is doable, but we need to introduce a series of restrictions, and prepare a plot-based kill. For example, after the players weaken him by ten percent of his health, the City Guard hounds of the Holy Light would jump out and try to persuade the final boss to surrender," he said.
"You’re not done yet, are you?" Lyle was certain this was a demonstration of the Blue Dragon’s personal malice towards him.
"What if we make the Angel a city guard? You know, the guards in the safe zones that can impose restrictions on high-level players with powers comparable to the management’s?" Irason began nodding to herself because she had already encountered several instances of the Dream Elf players indiscriminately brawling, and the former mascot queen’s commands were utterly ineffective. The Green Dragon Priest secretly rejoiced in her heart, thinking, once the Angel becomes city management, oh, I will show these naughty children what it means to ignore me.
"No," Kristo and Lyle answered in unison.
"Why not? Are you ganging up on me?!" The Elf’s tears gushed out like a fountain.
The Blue Dragon looked indifferent, used to the Green Dragon Priest’s antics.
"There’s only one Angel, and we need many guards just to maintain order. A whole host of the highest tier warrior template NPCs is enough. The Angel, possessing full self-awareness and such rich behavioral logic data, would truly be wasted as a mere guard," he said.
Lyle continued on Kristo’s subject.
"Moreover, the Angel is a clone of Mr. Raymond, and we should reduce the players’ chances of contact with him; otherwise, given Mr. Raymond’s temperament, he’d suppress these annoying rookies with terror. Just look at his weapon skills—I can already hear a chorus of Dream Elves’ screams."
Claudia’s eyes widened as she stared fixed at the Blazing Flame Greatsword in the Angel’s hand. She glanced at the health bar and skull marker above the Angel’s head and dismissed the idea.
"How about making him a humanoid spectacle?" she said. "The Angel of Holy Light is certainly a novelty for those who dwell deep within the Dream Forest and rarely emerge. We could host a tourism project, charging a bit of data gold coins for a photo opportunity with the Angel."
Claudia placed her hands on her hips. It was just a joke; her brother Kristo was a perfectionist, and she delighted in watching his uncomfortable and twisted expressions at such suggestions.
Kristo glared at her while the Green Dragon showed a happy smile.
"Let the Angel be the gatekeeper of the instance dungeon," Susanna put forth her idea. "The dungeon areas are our focus for carrying out the Druid’s responsibility to purify the Power of Nightmare. Those monsters who are strengthened the most carry the most intense Nightmare essence. Without our suppression, the dangerous aura inside could give rise to a new Nightmare. I have been monitoring these areas, and for now, there are no signs of a Nightmare outbreak, but this doesn’t mean those dangerous zones are safe. Our players can strengthen themselves by challenging these powerful monsters, helping us to purify the Nightmare, but we must also prepare for the worst. If one day the Nightmare proliferates in some unseen corner, the entrance to the instance would surely be the first to fall. It is the door we created, the contact point between the Nightmare and the Dream. We need the strongest and most steadfast warriors stationed in the most dangerous places, and he is the most suitable Copy World Watcher."
Susanna’s words resonated with the Justice Messenger. This time, without Lyle’s prompting, the Angel responded to Susanna. The Blazing Flame Greatsword plunged into the ground, and the fire that burst forth devoured the dust. The Angel knelt on one knee, accepting the task of guarding the dungeon depths.
[The Angel (Power of Holy Light) is renamed to Gatekeeper.]
[The Gatekeeper’s reputation with the administrator Irason the Supreme has risen to Friendly.]
The Angel’s response pleased the ruling Dream Elf greatly, shared hatred towards the Nightmare keeping the two previously opposing consciousnesses in sync. Susanna placed the Green Dragon Priest back on the ground, stepped over Lyle, and approached the Gatekeeper.
"Eliminate anyone corrupted by the Nightmare, even if it is any one of us, the administrators," she instructed.
The Gatekeeper lifted the greatsword, understanding Susanna’s intent.
[The Gatekeeper’s reputation with the administrator Irason the Supreme has risen to Respected.]
Susanna led the gatekeeper to the entrance of the copy maze, where Kristo was writing a new announcement about the gatekeeper. It wouldn’t be long before the Dream Elves would officially encounter this terrifying NPC. The Blue Dragon prepared to give a warning first to prevent anyone from seeking death.
"Lyle, what about the new profession you mentioned earlier?" Claudia wrapped her arms around her Dragon Priest, or more precisely, secured the skull of the Elf Leader under her armpit.
Lyle touched his chin and looked up at the sky.
"For those, I still need to negotiate with relevant personnel. Just like this time, let their dream replicas enter the Emerald Dream and become professional instructors for the players. I’m confident I can persuade them; just need some basic information plus a bit of gamified artistic processing, I will create entirely new professionals."
The working Blue Dragon interjected into the conversation.
"Lyle, Alcalon has been looking for you recently, but it seems it isn’t anything urgent. What have you done this time?"
Lyle nodded in understanding, revealing an innocuous smile.
"I got it, it’s just some work as a referee. Over at the Black Dragon clan, now it’s a test of the ancient humans’ endurance. Once they conclude their matters, I indeed wish to initiate cooperation with the newly born ancient humans. Berserkers, I envy the professionals created by the great dragon teacher."
"But before that, Kristo, Irason, I need the exclusive authority of Dreamland."
Irason nodded in a sign of agreement.
As the Blue Dragon passed on the key, he added a word of caution.
"Be careful, the codes inside are the foundation of this world, and I won’t be building it a second time."
Lyle nodded in response. In the Emerald Dream, as the World Builder together with the Dream Druid, and his own incarnation of Omen, he temporarily became the creator of this dream game world. He could casually guide the Power of Nightmare, freely leading matter and energy to form within the dream.
Lyle wanted to prove a hypothesis. The phantom’s tentacles emerged from his sleeve, with Nia materializing in his palm.
Power of the race, psychic analysis.
Creator’s code, descent of fear.
When Lyle was writing the dream script for the Dream-making Flower, he used some memory templates saved from his previous life out of convenience, including some plot stories from the ACG domain. This meant that a portion of the nightmares experienced by the Undead Andrei originated from magical knowledge of another world, which could perhaps be explained since dreams transcend logic.
After that academic gathering concluded, Lyle suddenly had a feeling.
Might he possess the ability to recreate those game characters and their skills?
Now with the assistance of the phantom to delve into stable memories, and the full support of the Dream Messenger and the magic network nodes, he might manage it.
Lyle raised his hand, harboring a strange feeling, and whispered.
"EX...calibur."
The destructive light cannon erupted upon the earth.
